Monday, January 17, 2011

Ok, I'm only two weeks late on the publishing of this finished dress. My second, and it's a much better fit. I worked hard on the bodice with the princess seams.

Here's the back view - which is a better fit than what this picture suggests.

''

Whew! Boy I need a haircut.

I've reviewed this pattern before so, here we go:

What I liked: Fun, easy, princess-seam pattern with retro good looks in a variety of styles. I love the two-tone - which Eugenia ingeniously concocted in one of her dresses. Great fit. I added the selvage flowers and pockets which match the bodice. . .

Peek-a-boo

Flowers - my big design element.

My challenges: The bodice fit - which I blogged about last post. I wish I could add the collar to this version - I ran out of tropical material. I lined it - which was challenging considering the double knit material I used on the skirt and somewhat skewed the absolutely perfect fit I had going on previously.

I also handpicked the zipper and used a variety of couture techniques. . . fell stitching on the armholes and to finish the lining.

Hand-picked Zipper. My favorite.

Next up: I'm in the middle of the pants sew-a-long by Sunni, The Cupcake Goddess, working on my muslin fit. I am taking a cloning class by Kenneth King, and I've been shout out by Sue of Sew-Misunderstood! Thanks - the posts are forthcoming.

This dress should work wonderfully - I'm headed to Hawaii in a week for two weeks for a work trip - although I planned to make a new bathing suit - that project has now been delayed. . . Pattern review on this dress to follow.

Monday, January 10, 2011

I've almost finished Vogue 8667 version 2. The dress is pictured below - it needs some finishing - which I will do upon my return from a trip east later this week:

First, I must thank (profusely) Eugenia from Eugenia's (Fabulous) World of Fashion, who gave me the idea of the two tone ensemble when my fabric selection for the bodice was insufficient in terms of amount of material.

She constructed the same dress in this method and its a knock out.

I have also constructed two deconstructed flowers to attach to the dress - in the shoulder/bodice area, I think. .

I will model the dress next weekend - however, I did two processes I may not choose to do again on this dress. First, I lined the dress with cotton voile - I think that affected the fit a bit - although it's a great fit so far - it actually felt better without the lining (I'll explain that in the next post).

Second, I added pockets and looking at the silhouette I believe this changed the lines of the skirt.

By the way, if you don't know - Auburn is playing in the BCS National Championship in Arizona (I'm on a last minute trip and missing the game). However, as sewing inspriration - I'd like to give a shout out to Sister atLiving La VIda Loca! - who has sewn, and perfected, the perfect Kwik Sew polar fleece jacket. War Eagle!!

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About Me

I live in Southern California and am enjoying my remaining, P - Pixie, a Kerry Blue Terrier. I teach and practice environmental law. Otherwise, I see myself as a writer, a vintage inspired seamstress, knitter, avid cyclist, and reluctant DIY crafter and quilter. Please contact me at pammieellen at gmail dot com to be in touch!